One year after the aptly named “Oblivion,” 51-year-old Tom Cruise goes the science-fiction, action-hero route yet again in “Edge of Tomorrow,” a completely derivative effort already described by many as “Groundhog Day” meets “Starship Troopers.” If only it were as entertaining as either.

“Edge” starts out nicely enough with Cruise’s arrogant Maj. William Cage, a telegenic American enlistment tool at a time when Earth is involved in a “Falling Skies”-like war of the worlds with mechanical alien thingies, suggesting angry squiggles and called “mimics.” The mimics have no personality and dart about at alarming speed, skewering their victims with darting, multiple metal limbs ready-made for 3-D.

When coward Cage runs afoul of Brit Gen. Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) on the eve of another Normandy landing called Operation Downfall, he is forced to join J Squad, a bunch of suspiciously familiar loser-grunts (especially if you’ve seen “Aliens”), headed by “Aliens” veteran Bill (“We’re doomed!”) Paxton as Master Sgt. Farell.

On the beach, in his lumbering battle suit, Cage gets wiped out almost immediately, but not before seeing a sword-wielding fighter known as the Angel of Verdun named Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt, looking fit, but also very thin).

Odd thing is Cage “wakes up” the day before Operation Downfall and starts all over again.

Hey, you have to credit screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie (“Valkyrie”) and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (“Fair Game”), based on the brilliantly titled novel “All You Need Is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. They figured out a way to write 20 minutes of movie that keeps going back to the beginning and repeating much of the action and dialogue (“On your feet, maggot,” gets very maggoty).

Each time Cage buys it and wakes up again, he and Rita get a little further on a mission to find the alien “omega” (i.e., a big blue lava lamp under the Louvre of all places) and destroy it and save the world.

Yes, this movie is as painfully stupid as it sounds, and it has more video game DNA than cinema blood in its veins.

Cruise, who is beginning to look his age, is still in “Top Gun” mode, cruising London on a Triumph motorcycle. “Edge of Tomorrow” even boasts a misconceived shout-out to the unfortunate 2005 Steven Spielberg version of “War of the Worlds,” starring Cruise.

Much of the action is shot by director Doug Liman of the similarly gimmicky “Jumper” and cinematographer Dion Beebe (“Green Lantern”) in the cheap, shaky-cam style that has finally begun to go out of fashion. “Edge of Tomorrow” is two hours of sci-fi, rewind-repeat eye-agony.